Better with Age
by Rickmanlover24601
Summary: Severus has been roped into selecting the annual Christmas trees. With no idea how to choose the best trees, he recruits Hermione to help but he gets more than he bargained for in the forest. HGSS.


**Better with Age**

He had stormed into the lab with a scowl on his face. This was nothing new to Hermione. She looked up from her potion. "Bad news?"

"No, excellent news, Miss Granger. That is why I'm smiling," he barked at her.

"Sorry." Hermione apologized and continued with her potion, expecting her Potions Master to explain shortly.

"I'm not the bloody groundskeeper. I'm a Potions Master."

Hermione bit her lip to stop herself from making a sarcastic remark.

"Since Hagrid decided to reconnect with his giant kin," Severus began snidely, "I have been selected to find the tress for the Great Hall this year," he growled.

Hermione couldn't help exclaiming, "Oh! The Christmas trees! How fun!"

Severus frowned. Of course the child would get excited about trying to tell the difference between a forest of firs. "If you're so eager, you can help me. Meet me in the Entrance Hall at 3." Without giving his assistant any time to refuse, he swept out of the room to his study.

Hermione suddenly felt nervous. This was her chance. She must not chicken out; it might be her only opportunity. She finished up quicker than usual so she could freshen up before 3.

/

Hermione glanced at herself in the mirror. She had on her best jeans (they made her bum look good), a red jumper, and her hair half up. She sighed. Her hair was as good as it was going to get. She put on her best coat, white, checked her lip gloss, straightened her shoulders, and made her way to the Entrance Hall.

/

Severus nodded when Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs. "Come along, it will be dark soon."

Hermione followed obediently behind him.

As they stepped into the forest, Severus slowed down and stopped, gesturing with his hand. "They all look the same. Why don't we just pick the first six we see?"

Hermione walked further in. "They are different. See, that one is very tall but extremely thin. You want one that's large but full. The thicker the greenery, the better. See, like this one here." Hermione pointed to a rather impressive tree. "Compare it to that one there. It's not half as impressive, wouldn't you agree?"

"Humph," was his reply.

Hermione smiled to herself. She found him quite amusing when irritated. "Will you help me cut this one down?" She stood on one side of the tree and raised her wand.

Severus decided to accept the inevitable and went to help, standing by the other side. At least with Granger's help they would be done in half the time.

After two trees, Hermione had shed her coat. It was hot work. She hung it on a tree near the entrance to the forest and placed some wards on it. Severus did the same with his cloak.

After the third tree, Hermione felt uncomfortable. "What?" She asked as Severus stared strangely at her.

"You seem to have acquired some tree." He walked over to her and plucked out a leafy twig from her hair.

Hermione blushed because of embarrassment but also because he was standing so close to her she could feel the warmth of his breath.

He threw the offensive foliage to the ground and walked away, seemingly wholly unaffected by their brief moment.

Hermione sighed and followed him. This wouldn't be easy. She tried not to think of him rejecting her- it was all too possible an outcome. At least she would have the Christmas holidays to recover from any mortification.

After the fourth tree, a clump of snow fell right on top of Severus. He groaned and shook his head. Hermione quickly rushed over and began patting the snow off his frock coat. Severus grabbed her hands and lifted them away from him.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. I can handle it."

Was it Hermione's imagination or was his voice a little softer than usual?

Hermione looked down at their hands and blushed. Severus quickly released them and cleared his throat. Hermione watched him walk further into the forest. She hadn't imagined it.

By the fifth tree, they had stumbled into a patch of mistletoe. Hermione took a deep breath. It was now or never. She stepped up beside Severus.

"Um… Professor?"

"Mm?" Severus absentmindedly replied as she assessed two trees beside each other. He couldn't tell which one was bigger.

"You're standing under some mistletoe," Hermione pointed out, sidling up closer to him.

He looked up without interest. "So I am."

That would have been the end of that if he hadn't half turned and found himself boot to boot with his student. She tilted her head up and quietly explained, "It's bad luck if you ignore it…."

"Really." Severus wasn't sure what he should say or do.

Hermione nodded and quickly stood on tiptoes and gave him a peck on the lips. Her heart felt like it was about to break free of her chest and bounce off through the forest.

Severus stared at her, his mind completely blank.

"Merry Christmas…" Hermione said and then moved on, her courage evaporating with each breath.

Severus stood on the same spot a little longer until his brain cleared and his voice returned. "Miss Granger," he hissed, dashing over to her. "What in Merlin's name was that? Have you lost your mind?"

Hermione swallowed. Well, she knew it would probably go like that. "Sorry, sir," she replied.

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it! That was highly inappropriate behavior. I would expect better of you of all people." He stormed forward a bit but then turned to face her once more. "Do you have any idea how serious this is?"

"It was only-"

Severus was listening. He plowed on. "I could lose my job, for Merlin's sake!"

"What? No you won't! You didn't do anything. I won't say a word!" For once in her life, Hermione had listened more to her heart than her head. Surely he wouldn't lose his job. And anyway, it's not as if she would storm up to the castle accusing him of accosting her. Did he not know her at all?

Severus closed in on her, glaring. He spoke in his softest and most dangerous voice. "Miss Granger, I am extremely disappointed in you. It is highly frowned upon for a professor and student to… become involved and, in case you, little miss Know-it-All, did not realize, it is also illegal if said student is underage." He all but spat the last word.

Hermione's eyes widened. "But, sir-"

"But nothing. We shall not speak of this and you will never repeat this little episode. Understood?"

"But sir, I'm not underage!" Hermione protested. "I'm 20 years old!"

Severus paused for a moment as that sunk in. "You are… 20?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, sir. I used a Time Turner for some of my classes in my third year and I repeated the year three times so, technically speaking, I'm 20."

Severus considered this for a moment. "Well, nevertheless, it was highly inappropriate," he reiterated.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, sir. Sorry." She was certainly a fool if she ever had entertained the notion that he would reciprocate her feelings if only she would make the first move. "Should we find the last tree?" She asked quietly.

Severus nodded and followed her trying to smooth down his feathers. He watched her walking in front of him and caught himself staring at her bottom. He blinked and looked ahead a little higher.

He wasn't… ignorant of her. In fact, he had watched her over the last few years as she grew out of girlhood but it was with academic and disinterested eyes. He just happened to notice that she had bloomed more gracefully than her fellow students and that she was, indeed, the brightest of them also. That did not mean he had feelings for her. And, while he was on the subject, was she attracted to him? Now that did not make any sense.

Severus was nudged out of his thoughts by her voice asking if they should get the tree she was standing beside.

Severus nodded then noticed she was standing under another clump of mistletoe. He ignored it and came up to stand beside her.

"I was thinking this one or perhaps that one? I can't really decide. What do you think?"

Severus glanced over at the neighboring tree. He was already tired of staring at trees and the night chill was closing in. He just wanted a hot cup of tea and his armchair. "Whatever you think." He turned back to Hermione and noticed she was wrestling a branch of mistletoe that had crept over her shoulder and had wrapped itself around her neck.

"Hermione!" Severus jumped forward, forgetting the formal title he usually used. He raised his wand and then lowered it, afraid he would harm her.

As she tried to pry the vine loose, she muttered something.

"What?" Severus grabbed the mistletoe and tried to pull.

Hermione tried to repeat herself and then her eyes widened. Another vine was creeping towards his neck. "Kiss me!" She finally blurted out.

Severus stared at her. She tried to impress the need for urgency with a look.

He leaned forward and did so. As his lips connected with hers, the vine loosened immediately. It began to creep away; the longer they kissed, the more the vine retreated.

Severus finally pulled away, allowing them both to catch their breath.

Hermione felt both relieved and a little star-struck. That had been a very nice kiss indeed.

Severus frowned and lifted a hand. His finger lightly traced the red line around her neck. He looked up and caught Hermione's gaze.

She gave a rueful smile. "I told you it was bad luck," she rasped.

Severus felt terrible. He had no idea there was some truth in her earlier statement. "I'm sorry." He absent-mindedly ran his finger over her neck. "Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded. "Just a little breathless." His finger tracing lightly over her skin wasn't helping one bit. But then she was suddenly more breathless as Severus leaned in again and kissed her gently, slowly, deeply. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned in. She felt him place his hands on her waist and pull her closer.

Hermione was sure that never before had a near death experience tasted so sweet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and mentally thanked Hagrid, Time Turners, and magical mistletoe.


End file.
